ethanmelch

Member
Beardie name(s)
Buddy
This is a long read but worth if you want to clear your dragon of an entamoeba

Hi, I rescued a bearded dragon (Buddy) back in June and he was diagnosed with an entamoeba invaden. His poop was loose and had grey like muscus in it with slight blood, his activity was very lethargic and he was dark/stressed. The vets didnt have much research on bearded dragons having entamoebas as its more common in turtles but they put him on Metronidazole (100MG mixture) with a dose of 0.25ML every other day which started to show improvement and he also had a probiotic for his stomach (Bene bac gel for reptiles: Pea sized, every 24 hours). He was on that schedule for 2 weeks then put on 0.2ML Everyday which also helped alot. After him being on the 0.2ML for two weeks after the 0.25ML, we decided to do a fecal sample to see if there was any improvement in the fecal but there wasnt much. He was off the Metronidazole for only three days while waiting for results and took a downward turn. He started showing signs of stress, lethargy and his poop was loose/smelly again. We then decided to get a second opinion because it wasnt going away and the new vet put him on the same medication (Metronidazole) but with a lower strength mixture claiming the 100MG was to toxic for him (50MG, Dose 0.2ML). He was on the low mixture (50MG) for two weeks and didn't really show improvement so we started to worry. This vet also said that bearded dragons could live with Entamoebas in small counts and can't totally get rid of them but, we did investigating ourselves and found out that wasn't true (They cant live with them present). Dont always trust the vet, We decided to go back with his previous vet so he could be put back on the stronger mixture of the Metronidazole which was (100MG) as that was the one with better results. He started improving again as soon as we got him back on the stronger mixture which was the 100MG mixture. He was on that stronger mixture again for like 4 weeks (Keep in mind, he was on the probiotic gel this whole time because this med is hard on their systems. Make sure you request for a probiotic).

We decided to do a fecal sample again after the 4 weeks and it came back clear. We decided to do a deep dive into this Entamoeba and found out that the Metronidazole med only kills the parasites that the parasitic cysts produce and does do damage to the cysts cells but doesn't kill the cysts totally unless your dragons on the med for a long time like we were. You have to make sure you are totally keeping your dragon and its whole enclosure (Including outer doors of enclosure) clean after every single poop. We did do another med just to be safe to make sure the cysts were totally gone. After looking through different vet sites because our vet didn't know about it, we found out about this other med called Paromomycin that actually kills the cysts totally but has low absorption rates. (Make sure you do bloodwork before hand because some vets might want that done before starting this med. We were lucky to already have it done.) Paromomycin is hard on their kidneys so you're gonna have to make sure your dragon is getting hydrated and make sure youre giving it the probiotic every 24 hrs the whole time. It's absolutely important to keep them hydrated on this med, What we did for hydration was provide cucumber, about 2 in a half slices cut in halfs. You do this once or twice a week depending how liquidity the poop looks cause sometimes cucumber can cause diarrhea (We also sprayed his greens with bottled water). Also, we got Repashy Beardie Buffet for bug days which worked great because you mix it with water to create a gel like mixture. Give 5 to 6 small worm like pieces (Equivalent to the space between bearded dragons eyes. No bigger than that because impaction risks) Repashy is good for sick reptiles, we did this once or twice a week. Our vet specially ordered the Paromomycin from a pharmacy out of state for us and Buddy was on that med for 3-almost 4 weeks. We saw improvement in his condition and in his fecal for the first 2ish weeks but he started to show kind of stressed symptoms on the third week of being on it so we decided to take him off for about a week for safety reasons. We finally did the final fecal tesdt and hes been cleared from the parasite ever since. You wouldnt believe the hell we went through to get him cured but it worked and we are blessed to still have him.

CLEANER WE USED: Rescue Veterinary Cleaner

Parallel Hand sanitizer is for some reason the most effective way to disinfect this horrible Entamoebia but alcohol fumes can easily kill your reptiles so what we used was this cleaner called Rescue Veterinary cleaner. Do a preclean then an actual clean and let it sit wet for ten minutes before rinsing. It is a cleaner that can just air dry but i always rinsed it to make sure everything was for sure cleaned good. If youre dealing with this Entamoeba and you wanna save your lizard, then throw away all decor and whatever your lizard plays on. Just use paper towel for the bottom, if you're feeling bad about your lizard possibly getting bored then you can use very small cardboard boxes. We covered our cardboard boxes in paper towel for comfort (You can get cheap paper towel) But you do have to throw those boxes away and replace them with new ones everytime your dragon poops. Youre gonna have to make sure you are disinfecting the inside and outside of the enclosure everytime it poops and make sure you are presistent with your vet.



Key Notes: Metronidazole (100MG), Bene-Bac Reptile Probiotic gel and Rescue Disinfectant Cleaner (Let sit wet for 10 Minutes before rinsing).


I hope this helps anyone who is struggling with this horrible entamoeba parasite.

God Bless
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Thanks for sharing. It is very difficult treating this type of parasite. It does take a big effort in treatment, but it can be done with persistence.
I am happy to hear your dragon, Buddy is much improved!

Tracie
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Ruby, Sinatra, Zsa Zsa
This is a long read but worth if you want to clear your dragon of an entamoeba

Hi, I rescued a bearded dragon (Buddy) back in June and he was diagnosed with an entamoeba invaden. His poop was loose and had grey like muscus in it with slight blood, his activity was very lethargic and he was dark/stressed. The vets didnt have much research on bearded dragons having entamoebas as its more common in turtles but they put him on Metronidazole (100MG mixture) with a dose of 0.25ML every other day which started to show improvement and he also had a probiotic for his stomach (Bene bac gel for reptiles: Pea sized, every 24 hours). He was on that schedule for 2 weeks then put on 0.2ML Everyday which also helped alot. After him being on the 0.2ML for two weeks after the 0.25ML, we decided to do a fecal sample to see if there was any improvement in the fecal but there wasnt much. He was off the Metronidazole for only three days while waiting for results and took a downward turn. He started showing signs of stress, lethargy and his poop was loose/smelly again. We then decided to get a second opinion because it wasnt going away and the new vet put him on the same medication (Metronidazole) but with a lower strength mixture claiming the 100MG was to toxic for him (50MG, Dose 0.2ML). He was on the low mixture (50MG) for two weeks and didn't really show improvement so we started to worry. This vet also said that bearded dragons could live with Entamoebas in small counts and can't totally get rid of them but, we did investigating ourselves and found out that wasn't true (They cant live with them present). Dont always trust the vet, We decided to go back with his previous vet so he could be put back on the stronger mixture of the Metronidazole which was (100MG) as that was the one with better results. He started improving again as soon as we got him back on the stronger mixture which was the 100MG mixture. He was on that stronger mixture again for like 4 weeks (Keep in mind, he was on the probiotic gel this whole time because this med is hard on their systems. Make sure you request for a probiotic).

We decided to do a fecal sample again after the 4 weeks and it came back clear. We decided to do a deep dive into this Entamoeba and found out that the Metronidazole med only kills the parasites that the parasitic cysts produce and does do damage to the cysts cells but doesn't kill the cysts totally unless your dragons on the med for a long time like we were. You have to make sure you are totally keeping your dragon and its whole enclosure (Including outer doors of enclosure) clean after every single poop. We did do another med just to be safe to make sure the cysts were totally gone. After looking through different vet sites because our vet didn't know about it, we found out about this other med called Paromomycin that actually kills the cysts totally but has low absorption rates. (Make sure you do bloodwork before hand because some vets might want that done before starting this med. We were lucky to already have it done.) Paromomycin is hard on their kidneys so you're gonna have to make sure your dragon is getting hydrated and make sure youre giving it the probiotic every 24 hrs the whole time. It's absolutely important to keep them hydrated on this med, What we did for hydration was provide cucumber, about 2 in a half slices cut in halfs. You do this once or twice a week depending how liquidity the poop looks cause sometimes cucumber can cause diarrhea (We also sprayed his greens with bottled water). Also, we got Repashy Beardie Buffet for bug days which worked great because you mix it with water to create a gel like mixture. Give 5 to 6 small worm like pieces (Equivalent to the space between bearded dragons eyes. No bigger than that because impaction risks) Repashy is good for sick reptiles, we did this once or twice a week. Our vet specially ordered the Paromomycin from a pharmacy out of state for us and Buddy was on that med for 3-almost 4 weeks. We saw improvement in his condition and in his fecal for the first 2ish weeks but he started to show kind of stressed symptoms on the third week of being on it so we decided to take him off for about a week for safety reasons. We finally did the final fecal tesdt and hes been cleared from the parasite ever since. You wouldnt believe the hell we went through to get him cured but it worked and we are blessed to still have him.

CLEANER WE USED: Rescue Veterinary Cleaner

Parallel Hand sanitizer is for some reason the most effective way to disinfect this horrible Entamoebia but alcohol fumes can easily kill your reptiles so what we used was this cleaner called Rescue Veterinary cleaner. Do a preclean then an actual clean and let it sit wet for ten minutes before rinsing. It is a cleaner that can just air dry but i always rinsed it to make sure everything was for sure cleaned good. If youre dealing with this Entamoeba and you wanna save your lizard, then throw away all decor and whatever your lizard plays on. Just use paper towel for the bottom, if you're feeling bad about your lizard possibly getting bored then you can use very small cardboard boxes. We covered our cardboard boxes in paper towel for comfort (You can get cheap paper towel) But you do have to throw those boxes away and replace them with new ones everytime your dragon poops. Youre gonna have to make sure you are disinfecting the inside and outside of the enclosure everytime it poops and make sure you are presistent with your vet.



Key Notes: Metronidazole (100MG), Bene-Bac Reptile Probiotic gel and Rescue Disinfectant Cleaner (Let sit wet for 10 Minutes before rinsing).


I hope this helps anyone who is struggling with this horrible entamoeba parasite.

God Bless
That is terrific information 👍
That sounds acwhole lot like how you have to treat for Coccidia to clear it up also.
I'm glad to hear Buddy is doing well 🙂
 

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